The Brief

For customers using a telehealth website to get cheaper versions of popular obesity drugs, the low prices turned out to be too good to be true.

Customers of Zappy Health tell NPR they were drawn to the online provider by its low prices, its lack of subscription fees and its handy smartphone app with a chat feature for patients to talk to one another during their weight-loss journeys.

The Zappy chat was ultimately how many customers first learned that Ousia Pharmacy — one of several pharmacies that supplied Zappy with compounded obesity drugs — didn't have a required license, one that ensured the drugs were produced in accordance with safety and potency standards.

Compounded drugs that Zappy and other telehealth sites sell aren't generics. Instead, they're essentially copies of the name-brand drugs, made by specialized pharmacies. The Food and Drug Administration allows this kind of compounding during drug shortages.

Compounding pharmacies are regulated at the state level. Ousia, in Spring Hill, Fla., didn't have what's called a sterile compounding license. The obesity drugs made by compounding pharmacies are given by injection, so attention to sterile production is critical to avoid contamination that could cause infections.

Zappy didn't find out about Ousia's licensing problem until December and it ceased its roughly three-month relationship with the pharmacy on Dec. 13, Zappy's founder, Dr. Michel Choueiri, told NPR in an email after a broadcast version of this story aired. He called Zappy "the biggest victims of this situation" and said that it has left the company in "severe financial and reputational ruin."

Some Zappy customers NPR spoke with found out about the problem on Reddit.

Laura Franzese, in Portland, Ore., learned about the licensing problem after spending $1,000 on a bulk order of tirzepatide from Zappy that arrived with Ousia labels. (Tirzepatide is the active ingredient in Eli Lilly's obesity drug Zepbound.) She'd been taking the drugs already, from a local provider, and called them "life-changing," but made the switch to Zappy hoping to save money.

"I bought three months' worth of medicine from this company," she says. Now she's afraid to use the drugs. "It was a big investment."

People active on Reddit told NPR that Zappy deleted the original user post in its app chat forum about Ousia's lack of the proper license. Choueiri says Zappy publicly apologized in the same forum and removed the post only while it was verifying the claim.

Ousia couldn't be reached for comment.

When Laura Franzese started with compounded tirzepatide at a local medical spa, she lost 20 pounds in 16 weeks. "It's giving me something that my body clearly needed," she says. But it was expensive. She discovered she could get a lower price from Zappy Health.

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Laura Franzese

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For many people who've turned to online telehealth companies to find compounded obesity drugs, they say they would prefer to take the brand-name drugs, but it isn't an option for them. They say Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound aren't covered by their insurance. And paying the full sticker price — more than $1,000 a month — is too expensive.

Compounding pharmacies fill a gap for patients like this. They've been a part of the health care landscape for decades, preparing custom medicines for people who need them, but booming demand for weight-loss drugs — as well as resulting brand-name shortages — has brought them into new prominence.

Even some people who have health insurance coverage for obesity drugs say they turn to telehealth and compounding because they couldn't reliably find the brand-name drugs in local pharmacies.

But the situation with Ousia shows the pitfalls of navigating the world of online compounded obesity drugs, which includes legitimate businesses as well as some unlicensed or unregistered ones. It can be difficult for consumers to tell the difference or trust the quality of the obesity drugs they're buying.

Looking for a deal, finding confusion

For Zappy customers, the problems came as a surprise.

Eric Bishop, an IT professional in Salt Lake City, was looking for a way to buy more tirzepatide at once, fearing that the official end to the Zepbound shortage would mean the end of the compounded version. He had been filling his prescription at a local brick-and-mortar compounding pharmacy but turned to Zappy to buy a stockpile.

He didn't know which pharmacy would be fulfilling the order through Zappy until after he paid. "They didn't give me a choice," he says.

Bishop had just gotten his nine-month supply of tirzepatide, worth $2,700, from Zappy when users on the Zappy app blew the whistle on Ousia.

"That's when I started seeing things in the chat," he says of the app's patient forum feature. "So I bounced over to Reddit."

According to a complaint filed by the Florida Department of Health on Dec. 5, Ousia applied for a sterile compounding license in March 2024, but it was never granted. When state regulators inspected the facility later that year in August, they discovered that it was compounding medicines anyway. In addition, inspectors noted that Ousia was improperly storing drugs that needed to be refrigerated and not keeping proper records for drugs it dispensed.

The Florida Department of Health did not respond to requests for comment on this story. In an email to NPR, Zappy's founder, Choueiri, said the department failed to disclose Ousia's problem "in a timely manner."

Bishop couldn't believe what he was reading.

"I'm all of a sudden, you know, about ready to start taking my medication and I'm like, I now no longer have any confidence in what I have," Bishop says. "And I might either want my money back or I want a replacement for what I have."

Eric Bishop helps run a Facebook group for people who got Ousia vials from Zappy Health and are trying to get their money back. Since Ousia gave up its regular pharmacy license on Jan. 31, he says, some people have been more successful.

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Courtesy Eric Bishop

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Another Zappy patient, Nicole Drong, in Minneapolis, says she was surprised when vials marked "Ousia" arrived at her home. "I did not know the name of the pharmacy until I got a package. And I was like, 'Well, that's weird. I thought it was going to say 'Zappy' on it.'"

Then in December, she noticed the Zappy app was sending her a lot more notifications than usual from the patient forum. Word was out that Ousia didn't have a sterile compounding license.

"I kind of feel stupid, I guess," Drong says. She says she was " just blindly putting trust in this pharmacy. … How often do you ever have to double-check your medication? Like, if I go get my antidepressants from Walgreens, do I have to double-check to make sure there's not anything extra in my bottle of pills?"

Choueiri, Zappy's founder, says patients have the opportunity to cancel once they learn which pharmacy is fulfilling their order, and it has responded to patient feedback to be more transparent with customers up front.

Confusion and no refunds

The bureaucratic details of licensing can be opaque to consumers. But these licenses matter, says Scott Brunner, who leads the trade group of compounding pharmacists, the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding. Ousia pharmacy wasn't a member, he says.

He called not having a sterile compounding license where one is required "egregious."

"I would not take a drug that has been dispensed to that patient from a pharmacy that has been found to be in violation of its state license law," he says.

Choueiri did a TikTok live on Jan. 15, where he said Zappy was "made aware of the complaint" and wanted to let the process play out. He added that his family members were taking the Ousia medications too and that he was also fielding questions from them.

"It's not counterfeit?" he said, reading questions as they came in. "Yeah, no. No, it's not counterfeit. Um no, no. The short answer is no, but I'm not going to go down the legal litigation here."

At first, Zappy told people they could fill out a Google form to get a refund or replacement vials, but customers tell NPR that nothing has come of it yet. For a time, Zappy also told customers to ask Ousia for a refund instead.

On Jan. 31, 2025, Ousia voluntarily relinquished its regular pharmacy license, Florida records show. Now, the pharmacy's phone number goes to voicemail and its website is down.

Asked what Zappy is now advising its patients to do with their Ousia vials, Choueiri wrote to NPR: "As always, Zappy is a platform that connects patients to affordable care but does not replace the role of medical providers or pharmacists. Decisions about medication use should always be made in consultation with a licensed healthcare professional, and defer these conversations to the providers of care."

Zappy Health ads on Facebook and Instagram promote its weight-loss program, which involves connecting patients to online providers and sending them low-cost obesity drugs made by compounding pharmacies.

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Zappy/Images screenshot and compiled by NPR

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Choueiri is a medical doctor. On its website, Zappy touts that its weight-loss plans "are personalized by doctors."

According to Zappy's terms of service, the doctor-patient relationship isn't between Zappy and its users. It's between the providers who do virtual appointments and prescribing on Zappy and the Zappy customers. And the company "disclaims any liability for the medical or pharmaceutical services provided through its platform."

Spotting red flags

While the Ousia situation is unfortunate for the patients involved, it's an example of the regulatory system working the way it's supposed to, says Brunner.

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy says it's hard to know how many online retailers are offering compounded obesity drugs that are made without the proper license or registration. State pharmacy boards oversee most compounding pharmacies around the U.S., but if a pharmacy isn't registered or licensed in a state where it's shipping products, it can be hard to track.

Betty Jones, compliance senior manager of the accreditation and inspection programs at NABP, says consumers can protect themselves by looking out for red flags. For instance, you should always know which pharmacy is filling your prescription, and they're required to provide counseling.

"If they're not providing you that offer of patient counseling or you're calling into that pharmacy and they don't allow you to, you know, be progressed to a pharmacist where you can ask questions, that would be something that I would call a red flag."

She says prices that are too low and pharmacies that don't ask for a prescription should also trigger alarm bells.

Potential customers should also be able to verify that a pharmacy is licensed, since these are public records available online in most states. And to dispense to you, that means the pharmacy needs to be licensed in your state, too — not just the one where it's located.

Bishop, the Zappy customer in Salt Lake City, says he helped organize a Facebook group for people to help them figure out how to get their money back. Customers say they haven't been able to get refunds.

Choueiri says Zappy's low prices mean it doesn't have much money left over after paying pharmacies and providers, and "Zappy does not control the funds necessary to issue refunds."

The Facebook group has grown to more than 600 people. Its members have even helped report new information to the Florida Department of Health, Bishop says. "We're just a community just kind of helping each other out."

Many of the group members' banks initially declined to reverse their credit card transactions with Zappy. That has started to change since Ousia relinquished its license, Bishop says. "Actually, some banks are even opening disputes that they closed previously."

Zappy is still advertising to customers, but Bishop says he isn't buying from the company again. He's back on compounded tirzepatide from his local pharmacy.
Copyright 2025 NPR

Today and Friday will be the warmest days of the week here in Southern California followed by cooler weather this weekend.

Where it's going to be the warmest: Coachella Valley temperatures will range from 104 to 109 degrees. In the Antelope Valley, afternoon highs will reach 103 degrees. Meanwhile, in the Inland Empire, afternoon highs will reach 96 degrees and in L.A. County valleys, temperatures could reach 93 degrees.

Where it's going to be the coolest: Head to the coast if you want to beat the heat. L.A. County beaches will see highs from 67 to 72 degrees, while in Orange County, coastal temps will range from 71 to 79 degrees.

The men's soccer World Cup kicks off next week at 16 stadiums across North America, just as summer weather arrives in many of the host cities. Millions of fans, players and workers could be exposed to potentially harmful heat, an NPR analysis finds.

More than one-third of World Cup matches are at high risk for dangerously hot, humid conditions, NPR found, and dozens more matches come with moderate heat risk.

NPR looked at two decades of temperature data for each host city, as well as the time each World Cup match is scheduled to start, and checked those temperatures against heat hazard guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the American College of Sports Medicine.

The high-risk events identified in NPR's analysis include multiple high-profile matches, such as the game that determines which team takes home third place in the World Cup, and the World Cup final.

"Players can overheat, and match officials as well," says Donal Mullan, a climate scientist at Queen's University Belfast, who co-authored a study last year about heat risk at the 2026 World Cup.

"They can also overheat and collapse," Mullan warns. "This has happened to people."

In an email to NPR, a spokesperson for FIFA, the governing body for international soccer, wrote that the organization "is committed to protecting the health and safety of players, referees, fans, volunteers and staff."

FIFA scheduled many games for cooler afternoon and evening hours, added extra water breaks for players and referees and installed air conditioning on the sidelines for those who are sitting on the benches, the email states.

"Outdoor matches during the hottest parts of the day have been strategically limited, kick-off times adjusted in certain markets, and matches expected in warmer windows prioritized for covered stadiums where possible," the email also states. FIFA did not respond to further questions about why some matches were nonetheless scheduled for high-risk locations and times.

When the weather is especially hot, "spectators will be permitted to bring one factory-sealed water bottle, and venues will activate additional cooling capacity, including shaded areas, misting systems, cooling buses and expanded water distribution," the FIFA spokesperson wrote to NPR.

FIFA did not respond to questions about how hot it would need to be to trigger protections, whether every venue has misting systems available or whether workers at stadiums would have the same access as spectators.

Dangerous heat and limited cooling

Out of the 104 games, 67 of them are being held at locations and times that come with potential danger for heat illnesses, with 39 of those at high risk, according to their historical wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT). The WBGT measurement is a strong indicator of overall heat risk because it takes into account humidity, shade and solar radiation to calculate the temperature.

"All hot weather is dangerous, but hot, humid weather tends to be more dangerous," says Jennifer Vanos, who studies heat policy at Arizona State University.

Miami, Houston, Dallas and Atlanta rank near the top in temperature for their games, with averages as high as 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Attendees and workers in those stadiums will have air conditioning.

Stadiums in other parts of the U.S. don't have the same infrastructure, with games in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Kansas City, Mo., averaging as high as 79 F with no roofs covering their stadiums.

Miami's stadium is the hottest venue without air conditioning. The historical average temperature this time of year is around 80 F. That threatens multiple matches with dangerously hot weather, including the match that determines which team wins third place in the tournament.

Multiple scientific studies have come to similar conclusions, including one published last month by researchers at Imperial College London and collaborators, who found that about a quarter of World Cup games this summer are likely to be held while temperatures exceed 79 F.

It is possible that individual matches in Miami and other high-risk cities will get lucky and see overcast skies and cooler-than-average temperatures. But climate change makes such luck less likely. Overall summer temperatures across North America are steadily rising, as global warming drives longer, hotter heat waves. The last 10 years were the hottest decade ever recorded on Earth.

The risk is not theoretical

The dangers of hot, humid weather are not new to professional soccer players and tournament organizers, though the risks are getting more pronounced as the planet warms.

The last men's World Cup tournament was held in the winter because of concerns about dangerously hot, humid weather in the host country of Qatar. Summer weather in Qatar's capital is often so hot and muggy that the human body can no longer cool itself by sweating.

Many North American cities also get extremely hot and humid, and heat emergencies have happened at professional soccer matches in the United States in the past.

Two years ago, hot, humid weather caused a health emergency at a stadium in Kansas City, Kansas. During a June 25, 2024, international soccer match, referee Humberto Panjoj collapsed on the field due to heat illness and had to be rushed to the hospital.

A nearby stadium in Kansas City, Mo., will host the World Cup match between Tunisia and the Netherlands exactly two years later, on June 25, 2026, raising concerns about the safety of conditions during that upcoming game.

At another 2024 match, held in Miami, a star player for Uruguay left the game at halftime and later told The Athletic that he suffered from dizziness and dehydration.

In 2017, professional soccer player Rachel Daly collapsed due to heat exhaustion during a match in Houston, despite additional water breaks during the game. She recovered and later posted on X: "those conditions are not safe to play at your maximum."

The sport's largest players union, FIFPRO, has expressed concern about player safety at the 2026 World Cup. FIFPRO did not respond to specific questions from NPR about heat safety at the tournament.

The reasons for avoiding the heat of the day go beyond protecting player and fan health. Soccer is a more dynamic game when it's played in cooler weather, studies have found, because players run faster and cover more ground.

Evening games are safer than afternoon ones

One of the simplest ways to protect people from hot weather during the World Cup is to schedule games for the evening, when temperatures are slightly cooler and there is less direct sunlight.

"The heat risk goes down significantly after about 6 o'clock in the evening, typically," Mullan says. "FIFA have by and large avoided the worst times of the day."

In an email to NPR, a FIFA spokesperson wrote that the organization took such considerations into account when it created the World Cup schedule.

FIFA did not answer questions about why the World Cup final is scheduled for the heat of the day, 3 p.m., on July 19 at an uncovered stadium outside New York City.

That start time, during the hottest part of the day, may have been chosen to maximize the global audience, much of which is located in later time zones. An evening start time would have required fans in Europe, Africa and Asia to tune in late at night or in the very early morning.

But the heat risk at that match is clear, Mullan says. "Obviously, if you schedule these matches for the midafternoon at some of these hottest locations, then that's your recipe for disaster," he explains. NPR's analysis found that the World Cup final match is likely to see wet bulb globe temperatures of 79 F, putting players and fans at risk for dangerously hot, humid weather.

World Cup fans and workers are also at risk for heat illness

The players and referees running around on the field are not the only ones at risk from very hot weather. Spectators and workers are also threatened.

That's because you don't need to be exercising to be affected by heat illness.

"I think about the person dying at the Taylor Swift concert in Brazil," says Vanos, of Arizona State University. In 2023, a Brazilian university student died while waiting for a brutally hot concert by the pop star.

In 2024, more than 1,300 people died during the Hajj, when that pilgrimage coincided with very hot weather in Saudi Arabia.

Both of those tragedies occurred during heat waves, when temperatures exceeded 100 F. While average summer temperatures in World Cup host cities generally remain lower than that, North American heat waves in recent years have led to triple-digit temperatures. And climate change means record-breaking heat waves are happening more often.

Vanos says large gatherings, like concerts, pilgrimages and sporting events, exacerbate the threat posed by heat because people are in large crowds, often visiting areas they are unfamiliar with. "Understanding the local context of the climate, where you can go to get water, where the water is safe, where you can go to find air conditioning — all of these things that sometimes it's easy to take for granted, but that can actually be really hard to find and get if you're in a really different context that you've never been in before," Vanos explains.

More than 6 million tickets are available for World Cup matches, according to FIFA, although the organization is not disclosing exactly how many it has sold.

Such a large event requires thousands of extra workers and overtime hours for local employees, many of whom will be working outside. The federal government is spending $625 million on local security in U.S. host cities — for example, NPR member station KCUR reports that Kansas City is using $59 million of that funding to cover police overtime at matches and extra officers from other locations.

Vanos says such workers could face dangerously hot conditions, especially if they're exposed to the sun during the hottest part of the day. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends that workers be given water and shade breaks to prevent heat illness, but some states, including Florida, do not have laws on the books to enforce such recommendations.

This story was edited by Neela Banerjee. The graphics were edited by Alyson Hurt.
Copyright 2026 NPR

What better way to welcome L.A.’s newest resident than with a fruit cart, paletas, pastries from Porto’s, Philippe’s French dip sandwiches and Kogi tacos passed out by Roy Choi himself? That’s exactly how the L.A. Philharmonic heralded new music director Daniel Harding at a conversation and reception last week, and I don’t think you can top it. Well, maybe only with the big sendoff happening for Gustavo Dudamel, who conducts his final shows at the big “Gracias Gustavo” celebration at Disney Hall this weekend after a glorious 17-year run. Bravo, maestros!

For more music, Licorice Pizza has your picks. On Friday, Secondhand Serenade is at the Roxy, Latin rock stars Maná play their first of two nights at the Honda Center and Scottish indie-pop darlings Belle & Sebastian perform their album Tigermilk in full at the Palladium with special guests Beachwood Sparks — they’ll be there Saturday, too, doing If You’re Feeling Sinister, with Tyler Ballgame opening.

Saturday, Alex Warren and Nat and Alex Wolff are at Crypto.com Arena, Snoop Dogg and Friends play a hometown show at the Long Beach Amphitheater and Mongolian folk metal band the Hu are at the Wiltern.

Sunday, Paul Simon plays the Hollywood Bowl and “School’s Out, ICE Out: An All-Ages Celebration of Community” hits the Echoplex with the Linda Lindas, Starcrawler, Illuminati Hotties, Allison Wolfe and more. But perhaps THE biggest concert tour of the year, the reunion of Rush, kicks off that night at the Forum.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can learn about the weird things people leave behind in L.A. Ubers and check out our interview with Ziggy Marley.

Events

WeHo Pride Street Fair, Parade and Outloud Festival

Friday to Sunday, June 5 to 7
West Hollywood 
COST: VARIES, MANY FREE EVENTS; MORE INFO

Pride kicks off big time in the mother of all Pride hubs: West Hollywood. This year’s street fair features free performances and appearances by Meg Stalter, Willa Ford, Cailin Russo, Say Now, Elio and more along Santa Monica Boulevard. Sunday’s parade starts at noon and is grand marshalled by Kathy Hilton; the weekend’s big Outloud Festival is ticketed and includes headliners Ashlee Simpson and Confidence Man, drag performances and much more

Primary Trust

Through Sunday, June 28
Mark Taper Forum 
135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A.
COST: $40.25; MORE INFO

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Jeff Lorch

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Center Theatre Group

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Knud Adams, who just recently directed the fab production of English at the Wallis, returns for the L.A. premiere of Eboni Booth’s 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Primary Trust. The one-act play tells the story of a young man (played with a light touch by Petey McGee) who has to find his way on his own after losing his bookstore job in upstate New York. It’s a tight, moving look at the changes in small-town America (the set gives Mr. Rogers vibes) and the challenges of moving through the world and finding your community — kind of an Our Town for our times.

Sound Pedro

Saturday, June 6, 7 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Angels Gate Cultural Center
3601 South Gaffey St., San Pedro
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Sound Pedro is one of my favorite immersive art events of the year. Perched up on the hill overlooking the harbor, art installations featuring sound echo across the former Army barracks at Angels Gate. This year, the event celebrates its 10th anniversary with a riff on the traditional gift, tin. The one-night-only event includes sculptures, environments, installations, timed and ongoing performances, interactions and more throughout the site.

LACMA Therapy Session 

Sunday, June 7, 4 p.m.
Barnsdall Gallery Theater
4800 Hollywood Blvd., Los Feliz 
COST: $15; MORE INFO 

Share your love (or hate) of LACMA's new galleries at a "therapy session."

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James Chow / LAist

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I got many, many emails from you all after the first previews of the David Geffen Galleries, and everyone had strong feelings. So if you sent us a note, this event is for you. Get your hot takes out and hear from architects and art experts about the new LACMA building at the LACMA Therapy Session, brought to you by our friends at L.A. Material, Punch List and the New York Review of Architecture. Bring your own Erewhon smoothie.

L.A. Festival of Tarot

Through Sunday, June 7 
Philosophical Research Society, 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Feliz 
Tarot Arts, 1017 Mission St., South Pasadena
COST: FROM $39; MORE INFO

Your weekend plans are in the cards. Meet tarot experts, take a card-reading workshop, find your favorite new deck and get special readings with the best card readers in Los Angeles at the L.A. Festival of Tarot.

Cut Chemist: Expert of None

Sunday, June 7, 5 p.m. 
Only the Wild Ones 
1031 Abbot Kinney, Venice 
COST: $39.66; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy Dust & Grooves

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Cut Chemist (Lucas MacFadden) has to be in the running for coolest Angeleno. The accomplished DJ and producer has worked with Jurassic 5, Ozomatli and so many more. He’s hosting a series of intimate conversations and music sessions on the back patio of natural wine and vinyl bar Only the Wild Ones in Venice all summer long. Part VH1 Storytellers, part living room hang, it’s a really fun, low-key Sunday-night party. This week, the focus is Tuned In, Comped Out, about McFadden’s musical education; there will also be events on July 5 and August 2.

Venice Hike Club

Saturdays, 10 a.m.
Westridge Trail, Brentwood
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

Put on your hiking boots and head up to Westridge Trail above Brentwood to make some new friends and get some exercise with the Venice Hike Club. The group heads out weekly, so make this Saturday your week! Can’t promise there won’t be a rattlesnake sighting.

Ocean of Sound 

Saturday, June 6, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. 
Annenberg Community Beach House
415 Pacific Coast Highway, Santa Monica
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Ocean of Sound comes to Annenberg Beach House Saturday.

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Courtesy Annenberg Beach House

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Clearly, sound is the theme this week. Dublab is hosting Ocean of Sound, a free event at Santa Monica’s Annenberg Community Beach House. It’s currently sold out, but check back to see if you can score a ticket to this evening of restorative listening. Periphone, a sound installation by Nina Keith, will be presented alongside Light & Air Studies, a textile installation by Faith-Ann Kiwa Young. Find a spot poolside or hop in to listen to work by Meg Duffy and Qur’an Shaheed via underwater speakers.

In the new live-action Prime Video series Spider-Noir, based on the Marvel comic Spider-Man Noir, actor and comedian Lamorne Morris plays a reporter named Robbie Robertson who is best friends with Ben Reilly (played by Nicolas Cage), a private investigator grappling with his superhero past.

Morris is best known for his roles as Winston in the 2010s sitcom New Girl (which he currently co-hosts a rewatch podcast about called The Mess Around), and more recently as a North Dakota deputy in FX’s Fargo, which earned him an Emmy.

In Spider-Noir, Morris told LAist host Julia Paskin that he got to borrow from both experiences, and “play in both the levity and the stakes.”

And while the show is set in a version of 1930s New York City, it was filmed in Los Angeles. Morris noted, “ Downtown L.A. looks probably more like 1930s New York than New York does,” and confirmed a fun tidbit — a real-life bar used as a filming location in the series, The Prince in Koreatown, was also regularly featured in New Girl.

Morris stars alongside Nicolas Cage who Spiderman fans will remember as the voice of a version of Spider-Noir in the 2018 animated film Into the Spider-Verse. The Amazon Prime series does blend in some original comic book characters like Joseph “Robbie” Robertson, played by Morris.

Some highlights of their conversation are below, including why the anticipation of comic book fans’ reactions to the show made him more nervous than meeting Nicolas Cage for the first time.

Entering the MCU, where fans are ‘serious’

While Morris said he welcomes fan reactions to his work, going back to his New Girl days (“ I love when I read fan feedback [...] I'm one of those actors that can appreciate it”) entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where fans can be “ real precious about their characters,” did intimidate him a bit.

 ”It being a comic book genre, that's where I feel the pressure because the fans are serious. The fans are like, ‘Hey, don't f--- this up.’ And you're just like, "Okay. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.’ So that pressure is there. We've gotten some pretty cool reviews so far, [but] the ultimate test is what the fans are saying. That's the final boss right there.”

Morris said the advantage of portraying the character of Robbie Robertson was that while there is some information about him in the comic books, and a portrayal of Robertson by the late actor Bill Nunn (who Wilson called “one of the greats”) in the 2000s Spider-Man trilogy of films by director Sam Raimi — there still was some room for Morris to make his own interpretations of the character.

“I got a chance to really make Robbie my own,” Morris said. “Which is all you can ask for.”

A real-life and a fictional inspiration

In doing some research on real-life Black reporters from that era, Morris’s friend brought up reporter Ted Poston, who was the first Black reporter for The New York Post (and only the third Black reporter to work for a major daily New York City newspaper) and was with the paper for more than three decades, from 1936 to 1972.

After finding out about Poston’s life and work, Morris said,  ”uncovering truths and breaking down walls [...]  it was one of those things where I said, ‘Man. I know I'm doing research on Robbie Robertson, but I would love to shed more light on Ted Poston just because he meant so much to culture and he meant so much to the profession of journalism.”

Another inspiration was the 1995 film Devil in a Blue Dress, starring Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle, and based on Walter Mosley’s novel set in post-WWII Los Angeles.

When showrunner Oren Uziel encouraged Morris to lean into an “old-timey” texture and tone for the character’s way of speaking,  paying homage to “the noir of it all, to the black-and-white of it all” (all of the episodes of the series are available in both color and black-and-white) Morris looked for a character from around that time period who wouldn’t sound “too cartoony” or “over the top.”

So he watched Devil in a Blue Dress and studied Washington and Cheadle’s approaches: “They came at it from two different energies. And I thought if I can watch two master actors make two completely different choices, but they both work brilliantly for the film, then [it was] dealer's choice for myself.”

Getting past his own fandom, with Nicolas Cage

When it came to working with Nicolas Cage, Morris said he had to work past his own fandom to get to a place where he could work comfortably.

To do that, Morris said, he tried to get his “million” questions out of his system as quickly as possible — like “What’s it like being Nic Cage?” and “What do you eat for lunch?”

When he went on a weekend trip with friends to New Orleans, Morris said he texted Cage, who he’d heard “bought a haunted hotel or something in New Orleans” — a mansion, it turns out — and asked Cage what they should do.

“The messages I got back in return were insane,” Morris said. “He broke down every restaurant, who to talk to when I got there, where to get the best drinks, where to get this, where to get that.”

Beyond being a lesson that meeting your heroes isn’t always a bad idea, Morris said it also served a purpose for the work they were doing.

 ”What you're doing is you're breaking down those walls so you can remove those nerves,” Morris explained. “When you don't know someone personally and you have to jump right into something where you're best friends, you need to build that chemistry quickly. So for me, that's what it was. It was just being silly, asking him everything.”